Parishes

St. Andrew the Apostle

Catholic Herald Staff

Established in 1989, St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Clifton is known for the reverence of its Masses and active music ministry, including traditional and contemporary choirs. COURTESY

Aerial_ web

Established in 1989, St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Clifton is known for the reverence of its Masses and active music ministry, including traditional and contemporary choirs. COURTESY

PP_StAndrew-Altar

What’s distinctive about your parish? What is your parish’s charism? 

Our mission revolves around proclaiming the Gospel, worshipping the holy Trinity, participating in the sacraments and building up the kingdom of God in our midst through works of charity.

Our pre-K to eighth grade parish school is a blessing to have as a ministry. Our principal Mary Baldwin and her team do an amazing job teaching our children, establishing virtues in them and doing all things in accord with the Catholic faith.

One distinct focus of our parish is caring for the needy throughout the year. Each Advent, our Giving Tree furnishes Christmas gifts and basic needs to organizations such as House of Mercy, St. Margaret of Cortona Transitional Housing and Mary’s Shelter. Parishioners also donate food and dry goods to support Western Fairfax Christian Ministries and Catholic Charities’ St. Lucy Food Project. Every Thanksgiving, in partnership with the Father Julius Cilinski Council of the Knights of Columbus, we conduct a large-scale food drive that provides holiday dinners to more than 200 families. The Knights also run the parish-supported “40 cans of Lent” drive for the St. Lucy Food Project warehouse. Our parish school’s “Crusader Cupboard” accepts donations of specific food items each month to support local charities, and our school also participates in an annual Lenten donation drive for paper goods and toiletries to support residents of the Lamb Center in Fairfax. All ages are encouraged to recognize and respond to the needs of others. 

We also have a very active Respect Life parish ministry, which organizes buses for parishioners, family and friends to attend the annual March for Life. The ministry also prays at the abortion clinic in Falls Church every Saturday and organizes our parish’s participation in the Manassas Life Chain, held on Respect Life Weekend every year.

Our energetic Youth Ministry provides a safe, social setting for the youths to bond through their common faith amid and through the distractions and pressures of pre-teen and teen life. Many youth group members engage in social service experiences and projects throughout the year, including a “homeless campout,” a summer workcamp, and connecting with homebound parishioners through homemade prayer cards. 

What’s the one unique thing visitors to your parish should do or see while there?  

In 2020, the church was blessed with the addition of a majestic pipe organ, the Opus 762. It has three manuals, 51 ranks, and 2,891 pipes. It provides beautiful sacred music for liturgies. We also host an annual concert series to showcase the organ for visiting musicians.

What is a new ministry that you’ve started? 

One of our parish teens started our Gardening Club, which has brought parishioners of various ages and interests together to beautify and maintain parish grounds. We also began the “Walking with Purpose” women’s Bible study in Lent 2022, which has drawn many participants. 

What would a visitor say about your parish, and how do new parishioners get involved? 

Our parish is known for the reverence of our Masses and the number of active altar boys who serve. We also have a very active music ministry that adds to the beauty of our worship, including our contemporary choir at the 9 a.m. Sunday Mass and the traditional choir at the 10:30 a.m. Latin Novus Ordo Sunday Mass.

Parishioners can learn how to participate in these and other ministries from our website, weekly bulletin and annual ministry fair. We are always looking to add people to help us to pray together, teach the Catholic faith and serve our neighbors.

What’s something we should know about your clergy? 

Father Robert Wagner is our fifth pastor, installed by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge in July 2020. Father Wagner has increased confession times, Eucharistic adoration and weekly Masses. His weekly Saturday e-newsletter to parishioners highlights parish events, offers spiritual guidance and talks about the Baltimore Orioles. This is the first parish assignment for our parochial vicar, Father Jonathan Smith, who was ordained in June 2021. We are blessed with his wisdom, maturity and willingness to jump in and contribute. He is very involved with our school, youth ministry and scouts, and he serves as the chaplain for our third-degree Knights of Columbus. Our priests have great love of the sacrament of reconciliation and hear scheduled confessions four times a week, as well as weekly confessions for the school students. Additional confession opportunities are offered on First Fridays and during Advent and Lent.

Is there a standout or longtime staff member or volunteer you’d like to tell us about? 

Retiree Joe Gott volunteers his facility management experience to maintain and improve our church and school. He is invaluable. Another exceptional volunteer is Mike Spicer, a longtime catechist for our second grade First Holy Communion class and leader of our pro-life group. He prays every Saturday outside the abortion clinic in Falls Church, serves as an extraordinary minister of holy Communion, and assists in organizing the weekly men’s prayer guild. Mike is a true example of “salt” and “light” to our parish. Parish sacristan Mark Sobczynski, who is also in formation for the permanent diaconate, helps organize our liturgies, trains our altar boys and serves the weekday 6:30 a.m. Mass.

Quick Facts: 

St. Andrew the Apostle 

6720 Union Mill Rd.  

Clifton 

703/817-1770 

www.st-andrew.org 

Pastor: Fr. Robert J. Wagner 

Parochial Vicar: Fr. Jonathan M. Smith 

Daily Mass: 

Monday–Friday: 6:30 a.m., 9 a.m. 

Monday: Noon 

Wednesday: 8 p.m. (Latin Novus Ordo) 

First Friday: 7 p.m. 

Saturday: 9 a.m. 

Mass Times: 

Saturday: 5:30 p.m. (Vigil Mass)  

Sunday: 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m. (Latin Novus Ordo), 12:30 p.m. 

Confession: 

Tuesday and Thursday: 11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. 

Wednesday: 7 p.m. 

Saturday: 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. 

First Friday: following 9 a.m. Mass 

Additional hours in Advent and Lent

School: St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic School 

6720B Union Mill Rd.  

Clifton 

703/817-1774 

www.standrew-clifton.org 

Prekindergarten–eighth grade, including resource program   

Total Students: 219 

Principal: Mary Baldwin 

Year Established: 1989 

Total Parishioners: 5,221 

Topics:

Related Articles